New Electives Coming Soon!

For the first time Northwest Academy is offering three new semester-long academic elective classes for the 2014/15 school year. The three classes are Psychology, Dynamic Minds: An Introduction to Philosophy and Personal, Social, and Global Health.

“These three classes have been requested by students for a long time,” Mary Folberg, Head of School at Northwest Academy, said. “We now have the means to offer them, so we are.”

The three classes will be offered to students in the tenth through twelfth grade. Each class will be one semester long, giving students the opportunity to take two of the three.

“I think the reaction to these classes is going to be good,” Folberg said. “We have some really great students who I think will really like to dig their teeth into some psychology or philosophy.”

Jada Pierce, the English Humanities II teacher, will also be teaching the Psychology class.

“I’m excited that Northwest Academy is now able to offer such courses to students,” Pierce said. “I have always wanted to teach an elective here, something that involves less outside work for students than an academic core class.”

In the six years Pierce has been working at Northwest Academy she has never taught a psychology class.

“I have been advocating for a psychology elective for awhile now, but the time just wasn’t right until now,” Pierce said.

Dynamic Minds: An Intro to Philosophy, will be taught by Julie Ellington.

“Philosophy has been a part of my life since I can remember,” Ellington said. “It’s ubiquitous in literature and humanities studies, so I have taken dozens of philosophy classes in my time in undergrad and grad school.”

Ellington will continue teaching her English/Humanities I course, but said she is excited to try something new.

“The primary overall focus will be on applied philosophy and how these ideas can make a difference in your personhood, decision-making process… your life overall,” Ellington said.

The third academic elective will be a Personal, Social, and Global Health class. Molly Sultany, who will teach the course, is a current high school Biology, Chemistry and Environmental Science teacher. Sultany said that she is looking forward to teaching the class next school year.

“I’m very excited about teaching the new health elective because the curriculum will be project-based and address health issues from three interconnected perspectives: personal, community, and international,” Sultany said.

The new Health class will have many different activities involved in the curriculum.

“Students will keep food journals, study the effects of diet and exercise on physical and emotional wellbeing and analyze the menus of Portland food carts,” said Sultany.

These three new semester-long Academic electives were driven by both student and teacher interest.

“I just think they are super important, interesting, (and) fascinating topics,” Folberg said. “I think the school and its students really benefits from having a wide choice of courses.”